Chance for Girona
©IMAGO
Real Madrid suffered an unexpected loss of points in the Spanish championship. In the city derby at table 14th. Rayo Vallecano, the leaders and record champions in LaLiga, did not get beyond a 1-1 (1-1) draw on Sunday even with Toni Kroos coming on as a late substitute, who played his 450th competitive game for the Royals. Raúl de Tomás equalized the guests’ early lead by center forward Joselu (3rd minute) with a hand penalty (26th). New coach Íñigo Pérez made a successful debut at Rayo.
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Real had to do without the injured German national defender Antonio Rüdiger. Kroos only came on as a substitute for Eduardo Camavinga in the 70th minute for RB Leipzig’s Champions League opponents. Nine minutes later, the 34-year-old had a huge chance, but his well-placed free kick was parried by home goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski. Both teams had several chances to win, especially in the final phase. In the fifth minute of added time, Real’s Dani Carvajal was sent off with a yellow-red card after a foul.
Despite the surprising loss of points, the Royals continue to lead the table with 62 points from 25 matches. Surprise pursuers FC Girona have 56 points and can reduce the gap with a win on Monday at Athletic Bilbao. FC Barcelona is in third place with 54 points. The defending champions from Catalonia won 2-1 (1-0) at Celta de Vigo on Saturday with two goals from ex-Dortmund and Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski.
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